Tuesdays With Businesses

Carie Canterbury

The Canon City Daily Record

November 19, 2008

The Colorado Workforce Center and local business leaders have joined
efforts to meet monthly to provide teachers and interested parents with
current and relevant information about local businesses and the
necessary skills students need to succeed in various types of
employment.

In collaboration with the Colorado Work Force Center, Four Mile
Ranch Golf Club Superintendent John Feeney hosted a “Tuesday Tour” in
October and in November. He looks forward to meeting with more teachers
and eventually, employable students.

“My motivation for Tuesday Tours is to find employees. It is
difficult to find seasonal staff,” Feeney said. “One goal for Tuesday
Tours is for teachers to get a better idea of what students would be
doing on a daily basis and get an overall view of what tasks are
required of the job. We also let teachers know what skills the students
will learn here.”

Feeney, who has a degree in turf management, believes students who
obtain horticulture experience could eventually go into several
different lines of employment in that field.

“Kids can learn a lot of different skills here which can open up to
new areas,” Feeney said. “They can go into Parks and Rec., sports turf
management, greenhouse management, or landscape design. This is not
like mowing a lawn at home; this is a pretty unique summer
experience.”

Feeney expects to hire approximately 12 students next summer as part of
the seasonal maintenance staff which typically works from the beginning
of May until the end of October. “The kids would get to be outside and
work in this beautiful setting. Team work is a big part of the job and
the kids also get rewarded with more responsibility,” Feeney said.
“This job begins at 5:30 a.m., but 90 percent of the effort done by the
maintenance staff is done by 9 or 10 in the morning, at least in the
summer. Kids from Garden Park could work here as part of their school
day.”

“Part of our curriculum is workplace competencies,” said Garden Park
High School teacher Pierre Gamache. “Our students get credit for having
jobs. Once they’re trained in workplace competencies, they’re ready to
go on their own and have more responsibility.” According to Gamache,
several high school students go straight from high school into a
career. There are also those students who are searching for work or
have jobs they don’t like, while others live on their own and are
self-supporting.

“Our students are always looking for career-finding opportunities and
ideas on what to do with life after high school,” Gamache said.

Participating in the Tuesday Tours is a valuable tool Gamache and
other high school teachers can add to their “tool box” of resources
that helps young adults as they begin their journeys into the world of
employment. The Tuesday Tours program also assists educators as they
relay to their students the importance of math, science, communication,
social skills, and technical applications and how these are necessary
skills for students in order to succeed in careers.

Christina Gonzales, Regional Supervisor at the Workforce Center,
encourages teachers, as well as interested parents to sign up for one
of the monthly Tuesday Tours that will begin again in January and run
through April as part of the 2008/2009 school year. Tours are scheduled
the third Tuesday of each month.

“This is an opportunity for you (teachers) to gain a deeper
understanding of the world of work and to meet with local businesses
first-hand as they emphasize the need of producing highly qualified,
work-ready students,” Gonzales announced.

Tuesday Tours are free of charge, and teachers can earn graduate credit through CSU Pueblo by attending these business tours.

For a complete list of businesses participating in the program, or to register for a tour, visit
http://www.betrproject.org/tuesday-tours-list or contact Gonzales at the Workforce Center at 719-275-8189.